Fate of the Unknown
by AliasEmi
Summary: When the Heartless invaded Radiant Gardens, Ephilia was torn from Isa forever, but what happens when Saix finds Emika? Will he keep his promise, or deny that she is the girl he loved so long ago? Saix/OC
1. Memories

Hey guys! Long time, no see, eh? Well its 5 am right now, but this amazing story idea popped into my head and I wanted to know what you guys would think! Should I continue? (Yay/Nay) BTW I own nothing except the amazing plot that will soon unfold, and my OC Effie/Emika. Enjoy :)

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Emika Yamaboshi - A Nobody. Heiress to the Yamaboshi Family (a "Royal" family of Nobodies), and in turn, heiress of the world called Pleasant Valleys (Ruled by the Yamaboshi's). Persona of Ephilia (Effie) Vipeara.

Characteristics: Long dark red hair, ice blue eyes, 5'11" with freckles covering her shoulders, running from cheek bone to cheek bone (across the bridge of her nose), lightly sprinkled down her back to the bottom of her shoulder blades, two single freckles side-by-side on her hip, and a single freckle (that really won't be seen) on her left breast. She also had a thin silver nose ring in her right nostril.

Weapons she wields:

KAKUTE -on her left ring finger

NEKO-TE -only on her right hand

SAI -one kept in each boot, obscured by the long skirt she wears.

Note: everything in italics takes place within her thoughts. Emika is a quiet person, and the use of italics makes it much easier to understand what's going on.

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It was midnight as Emika walked out of her friend's home to the car awaiting her. Silently, she approached the back passenger side and got in the dark vehicle. She put her seatbelt on and rolled her window down half way as the car began to pull away from the house. She stared out her window emotionlessly, watching as house after house blurred past. It was cool out that summer night, humid because of the earlier rain, but the sky was clear now.

She looked up at the stars and thought the same thing she always did.

_He is out there. Somewhere. And I will find him, even if it kills me. _She sighed sadly.

_Are Nobodies supposed to have feelings? _She thought to herself. _Technically not, but I suppose I can show feelings when I am closest to being human, like when I think of my recent past. Not that there's much to think about. A few scattered facts and a single memory is all I've got from the last year of my human life. _

_But it is enough for me. _

She repeated the same thoughts that had run through her mind countless times before.

_I know from that one memory what I'm searching and fighting for. _

_My heart. _

_His heart._

_~Flashback~_

_"Wh-what is this? No! It can't be! The shadows... they're moving!" you screamed. _

_"Effie! No! You must get away from those things. They're dangerous!" A boy across the room called to you._

_His warning was too late though. The Darkness was already crawling up your legs, pulling you down. _

_Your memory blurred slightly for a moment, as if censoring what was happening. When it refocused, the boy was closer, reaching his hand out to you, but not quite able to reach you. The Darkness was pulling him down too, away from you._

_"Effie!" _

_You were pulled further into the darkness._

_Pulling free of the Darkness, he crawled closer to you and grasped you hand, refusing to let go as the Darkness began to tug on him once more._

_"If we make it through this, I will find you Effie. And I will save you. I promise." _

_"Isa. I love you. You musn't ever forget, no matter what happens."_

_"I love you too Effie."_

_The Darkness had swallowed you completely then, forcing you to release Isa's hand._

_The last thing you remember thinking was, "It's so cold." _

_~End Flashback~_

A tear ran down Emika's cheek. Feeling it slide down her skin, she reached up, touching the salt water with her fingers. She pulled her hand away from her face and examined the anomaly.

It glimmered in the moonlight.

She lay her hand back on her skin, touching the track it had made, and looked up at to moon. It was full tonight, and that made her smile, just a little, at another little fact she remembered.

_He loved the full moon._


	2. The Long Kiss Goodnight

Hey guys! rather fast update by my standards! I really had to put some thought into this one. There is a reference to a movie in this chapter, and since I couldn't think up a decent chapter title, I used the title of the movie XD Yay for Unoriginality! Anyways, On with the story. Please review! They make my day :)

Disclaimer: Really now? If I owned even the smallest piece of Kingdom Hearts, I probably wouldn't waste my time writing this stuff... I'd be harassing them to make it happen for me :D

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Emika felt as the car began to slow, finally coming to a stop in front of a large house.

They were in the much older side of town; This section, a bit farther away from the other houses, was an all new development. This open meadow was destined to become a suburb housing community, and the house she was currently parked in front of was going to be the pride and joy of the surrounding neighborhood.

At the moment, the finishing touches were being added to the lawn and the outside of the house, but it had been deemed fit to live in. Emika had taken it upon herself to find a tenant suited for the beautiful home.

She had made arrangements earlier that afternoon with a... business partner of sorts. This Organization, as they called themselves, had piqued her interest with a reply to a letter she had sent, and that led her to find a way of keeping in touch with them. She knew a few things about them; How they worked, where they'd been, and she even knew a few people they'd run into along the way. But on thing was for certain: They were all like her.

Emika looked at her driver, face void of any emotion, as she spoke with a quiet but steely tone. "I'll be back within the hour. I don't care what you do until then, but this car had better be right here when I walk back out that door. Understood?"

With the driver's head bowed, he replied, "Of course, Miss Yamaboshi."

Emika nodded once and opened her door, stepping out of the car. She swiftly crossed the well manicured lawn and walked up the porch steps to the large front door. Checking her reflection in the plate of glass that ran up the door, she adjusted her skirt so the sai in her right boot couldn't be seen through the slit that ran to the middle of her thigh.

Flipping her hair out of her face, she rang the door bell. She smiled lightly as she heard the annoying bell chime all through the house; They definitely heard her.

"Coming!~" someone chirped from inside.

The door swung in quickly and, reacting on instinct, Emika got into battle stance and pulled her Neko-Te equipped hand back, ready to lunge.

The boy at the door yelped in surprise, causing Emika to straighten up, eyes wide.

"Whoa there, girly. Ya could have just clawed my face off, ya know that?" The boy said with a teasing grin on his face.

"Hmm. My apologies. I'm not normally so on edge." Emika spoke with little emotion.

"Name's Demyx. I assume you're Emika?"

"You shouldn't make such an assumption, but you'd be correct." She said with a smirk on her face.

"And why is that?" he asked, holding the door open in a silent invitation inside.

"Because," she said, walking past him into the entrance way of the home before turning back towards Demyx, crossing her arms across her chest and drumming her Neko-Te on her arm, "everyone knows, when you make an assumption, you make an ASS out of U and UMPTION." she countered with a small smile pulling on the corners of mouth at the look Demyx was giving her.

"Har har." He mocked her with the dumbest look on his face. Emika broke into a fit of laughter.

"You know, I think I've heard that saying before..." He trailed off with a look of deep concentration on his face.

"Have you..." Emika choked, all of the emotion draining from her face and her lips opening just a bit as a memory assaulted her.

_~Flashback~_

_You were laying on your couch, you head in Isa's lap as you watched a movie together. _

_"...everyone knows, when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of "u" and "umption"." The character on the screen said. _

_Isa broke out into a fit of laughter. You were trying hard not to laugh so you could still hear what the people were saying, but the blue haired boy's laughter was contagious. You began laughing along with him,the two noises mixing together in the air and steadily growing louder. It got to the point where you had to sit up and hold your sides to keep them from bursting apart as tears ran down your face. Slowly, the laughter began to die down, leaving you both a bit breathless. _

_"Look at what you did Isa!" You said with laughter in still in your voice, "My mascara is starting to run down my face." You pushed his arm lightly in mock anger. You wiped underneath your eyes._

_"My bad, but it was worth it;" he said, pulling you back over to him, "I love your laugh". _

_A faint blush spread across your cheeks. "I love that too." he said, giving you a breathtaking smile. You smiled back as he bent his head slightly to kiss you. You wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as his hands knotted in your long red hair._

_"Ya know, I came out here to see why you two were being so loud, and I find blueberry head here eating my sister's face off." Your older brother said as he walked into the living room. You broke away from Isa with a groan directed at your older brother._

_"Go away Lea" you said with an irritated look in your eyes and a small pout on your lips. Lea chuckled and looked at Isa. _

_"Look at you." he said, shaking his head at the disheveled boy on the couch. "Here I thought an action thriller would keep you guys entertained enough to keep you from tearing each others clothes off." he tsked _

_"Looks like someone's a bit jealous." you smiled at your brother who was 2 years your senior._

_"Jealous?" he asked, arching an eyebrow._

_"Yeah, I mean, I DID steal your boyfriend and all..." You managed to keep a straight face as Lea's jaw practically hit the floor. Isa fell off the couch laughing at Lea's expression. _

_"I-What?" Lea exclaimed with a baffled expression. _

_"Go away Lea, or the next thing I tease you about will be your 'feminine hips'" you said with an evil smile._

_Lea's eyes narrowed as he huffed and stalked out of the room. From the floor, Isa began laughing harder. You smiled triumphantly, "Effie 2, Lea 0." you stood from the couch and took a step towards Isa's crumpled form. _

_"Want some help there, blueberry?" you asked, smirking down at your boyfriend. He held a hand up and you heaved him from the floor. _

_"You know what?" he said, smiling as he sat back down on the couch and pulled you down with him. _

_"What?" you asked as you put your head back in his lap. _

_"I think that was the dumbest thing I've ever laughed about; and I've been friends with Lea since we could talk." _

_"What an achievement." you retorted sarcastically with a laugh. _

_Lea picked up the remote and backed up the movie as his fingers played with your hair._

_~End Flashback~_

"-lo? Are you okay?"

Emika snapped back into reality with a shiver. Demyx was waving his hand in front of her face still. She turned on her heal, startling the boy. "I'm using your restroom." she called over her shoulder as she walked through the living room and into a hallway to where she knew the bathroom was located. She opened the first door on her left and walked in, closing the door behind her quietly with eyes focused on the ground. She stepped up to the mirror and looked up, seeing the tears running down her face for the second time that night.

"Oh, Isa. You're so close, I can feel it." Her eyes were full of sadness, brimming with more tears.

She gave a small laugh. "It's been so long since I've... felt. I miss you Isa." she said to her reflection. _How am I supposed to find you here? Your name, it won't be the same. So where do I begin searching? _

Something occurred to her then.

Demyx.

He said he had heard their quote before._ It was from a popular movie, remember? Who's to say he didn't hear it from watching the movie? _Her mind was fighting itself now. _Shut up! It's a lead, isn't it? Besides, he said he had heard SOMEONE say it, not that he had just heard it before. _She sighed, wiping the tracks of the now dry tears from her face as she turned from the mirror and walked back out of the bathroom.

"Sorry about that." she said when she reached Demyx.

"No problem. Xemnas is waiting upstairs for you. I'll show you where he's at." the blond said, gesturing to the stairs.

"Thank you." she said, walking behind the younger man. "Demyx?"

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to look at her as the scaled the winding steps.

"Earlier, you said you had heard someone say something I had said."

"Yeah, that's right! I was trying to tell you, but you were all... spaced out. Another member of the Organization, Number VII, I've heard him say it a few times."

"Number VII? Does he have a name perhaps? Or do you all go by numbers?" she asked as they reached the top of the steps.

"Yeah, sorry. Force of habit, ya know? We refer to each other as the numbers because they're kind of like a rank I suppose. His name is Saix. He and Number VIII, Axel, are pretty close. If you ask me, it's like they new each other Before. Like they were friends."

"Weird..." Emika said, more for Demyx's benefit than for her own. Her mind was going a million miles a minute.

_Saix. Isa could be here! He could be Siax. __There is a way to tell;__ Ask __Demyx what color his hair is__._

As Emika opened her mouth to ask the question, Demyx said something.

"We're here!" he knocked on the door twice and waited.

"Enter" came a voice from the other side of the door.

Just before Demyx twisted the door handle, Emika grabbed his wrist, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Before you go, please answer me one more question." She said.

"Um, okay. What is it?"

"What color are Saix's and Axel's hair?"

Demyx's eyebrows raised. "Um, Saix has blue hair, and Axel's is bright red. Why?" he questioned, clearly baffled.

"I was just wondering. A lot of Nobodies have strangely colored hair, you know?" She lied easily and opened the door herself, stepping in and closing the door behind her.

The only thing going through her mind was a manatra of _He's really here!_


	3. Friendly Conversations

Hey! I just wanted to let you all know that I initially planned on making this a 6 or 7 chapter thing, but seeing as how it's taking SOOO long for the plot to develop, I no longer have ANY idea how long this story will be. I hope these next few chapters will also help with any confusion. My Beta, KMSaum, had me considering the first-to-third person switching I've been doing to show flashbacks. I want to go in and change it, but there really isn't a way to do it with what I plan on doing later. I don't want to do the story from first person, but I can't do memories from third. I am really sorry for any confusion! Without further ado, the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, trust me. I wouldn't be living in my crappy apartment if I did. I'm just "borrowing" and mixing with my fluctuating moods.

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The door snapped shut softly behind Emika as she made her way across the room, eyes on the ground ahead, her heels clicking sharply along the cool marble floor.

She paused in front of a large mahogany desk that dominated most of the space in the dark office and looked up, her eyes seeking those of the man who was sitting behind the ornate piece of furniture. Her icy blues met a bright orange and widened slightly, showing her surprise at seeing the strange color. She began to see the other features on the face before her. She observed the tanned skin and the brilliant silver hair surrounding the sharp face. Lastly she saw the brusque smirk on his face, making his otherwise attractive features seem rather appalling and bitter. Emika deliberately returned the harsh look, folding her arms across her chest as she stared back into the deep orange eyes of the man in front of her.

A moment passed and the man's composure cracked as he chuckled. He stood from his chair and leaned over the desk, one hand resting on the shiny surface between them as the other stretched towards her. The man had a ghost of a smile on his lips as Emika tentatively moved her own hand out to grasp his.

"Xemnas I presume." Emika stated as she released her grip on his hand.

"At your service, Miss Yamaboshi." he replied with a mock bow, smirk back on his face.

Sitting back down, he gestured to a large dark leather chair to Emika's left. As she took a seat, Xemnas began to speak, "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Miss Yamaboshi. I am sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused you."

"Not a problem," she replied, already slightly bored. She had been desperately hoping this would not be like most of the other business meetings she had had the displeasure of attending earlier this week. "There were no inconveniences, as I was planning on dropping by tonight anyways. What is it that you wished to talk about?" Emika continued to the matter at hand without preamble.

"I merely wished to thank you for providing such a wonderful place for us to stay as we research the other worlds." He said as he picked a sheet of paper off of his desk and began scanning it.

"Cut the crap Xemnas." Emika replied irritably as she crossed one leg over the other.

"What?" Xemnas asked incredulously, looking up from whatever it was that he had been reading moments ago.

"We both know that isn't why you wanted to see me. I know what you are, what you're doing, and what you're after, so spit it out; There are other matters that require my attention and I haven't the time for a game of twenty questions."

Xemnas looked at her a second more before laughing again, this time a bit more heartily than the last. "Interesting." He stated, "I wonder why it is that you woke with them rather than with us. You certainly are feisty enough, and I'd bet that you can handle any weapon effortlessly."

"Spare me your desolate nonsense and tell me what the hell you're talking about Xemnas." Emika spat with narrowed eyes.

"My, my. And a temper to match Roxas's. What I was trying to say was why you had been awakened as a Yamaboshi. Don't get me wrong, the Yamaboshi name is a respectable one, but you don't fit the description. The Yamaboshi's are Nobodies who are content with merely existing as the hollow shells they are. They don't push the boundaries and control what they rightfully can! They don't seek the one thing that will make them whole again; A heart." Xemnas exclaimed and leaned back in his chair as if he had just accomplished some amazing feat.

Emika scoffed at his false victory and stood, walking over to the desk and slowly leaning down, hands on the cool wood, until her eyes were level with his. "Content?" She spat. "Far from. We seek the same thing as you, and yet we have found a more humane way to do it. That alone proves that we have more of a heart than you." She sneered as she stood and walked to one of the bookshelves lining the office. "And as for not controlling what is ours…" she spoke as she searched the shelves. She snapped her fingers and a Neoshadow appeared in the room, right in front of Xemnas's desk, twitching and shaking. "Something you just don't hear about, I'm sure." She pulled a book from the shelf and began flipping through it. "I know what your Organization does, Xemnas, and it's foolish to say the least. You are all sloppy. You speak of control, but you aren't controlling the Darkness; You are letting it run rampant. You pull Heartless out of the Darkness to carry out your deeds and get the hearts you need for your Kingdom Hearts, but you aren't keeping an eye on them, now are you?" She snapped the book shut and walked back over to Xemnas's desk, standing next to the Neoshadow. She slammed the book onto his desk and reached down to pet the Heartless. "The Heartless aren't toys or puppets, Xemnas. They are vessels. They are you and you are them. Got it memorized?" she snapped her fingers and the Neoshadow disappeared.

She looked up at Xemnas then. " I don't think you get it. You will be found, and your laziness will be your downfall. Listen to me, and listen closely," She leaned back over the desk, hands resting on the shinny top once more, "What you are doing might get your precious Kingdom Hearts finished faster, but THIS isn't how it needs to be done. You are taking the hearts of innocents, hearts that know nothing of darkness. Do you think it matters what kind of hearts you take?"

"Of course not! We need hearts, and that is what we're getting."

"Wrong. It does matter. When you get your heart, it will be composed of all of the hearts you wrongfully took. Do you know what that means?" She waited for a response, which she didn't get. She continued on, "Remorse. The difference between a dark heart and a light one. THAT is your answer. A dark heart feels no remorse because the person whom the heart belonged to had to have shattered their own morals and beliefs. They have no boundaries, and therefore don't feel bad about all of the shit they do wrong. A light heart on the other hand has their morals intact and feels each and every wrongdoing they commit and wishes beyond anything that they could go back and fix it. If you desire a heart full of remorse, than be my guest; But I sure as hell don't want to despair about HOW I got my heart after all the hard work I put into it. Remorse is a damn strong emotion, and one that takes time to get rid of depending on the magnitude of what you've done wrong. After I get my heart, I won't have the time to get over something that big." She stood and went back to her chair.

"But wouldn't that mean the heart you created is dark and broken?"

"Good question. It's nice to see that you're paying attention. In a way, I suppose the answer is yes." she said as she sat back down.

"Well I sure as hell don't want a broken heart after all of the hard work I put into it." Xemnas replied coolly.

"But then again the answer is no." Emika sighed.

"No?"

"No. You see, these hearts are already broken, but if you take all of these broken pieces and forge them together, you will eventually get something that is whole. Are you following me? It will take a few extra dark hearts, but the outcome will be as desired. And the best part? No remorse. The heart will be virtually new, therefore new morals will be created and you'll have no remorse for what you had to do to. Got it? The heart will be yours in every aspect. The morals entirely your own; After all, what is broken can generally be fixed, so why not customize it?" She concluded her speech with a faint smile as she examined her nails.

"Well, I can't fight with your logic, but how do you know it will actually work?" Xemnas asked, astounded. He was leaning forward on his elbows now, fingers entwined with his chin resting on them.

"I've provided you with the proof, all you had to do was look." She gestured to the book she had slammed on the desk earlier. "As you said earlier, the Yamaboshi name is a respectable one, but it is also an old one. The book in front of you is the complete and very detailed history of my family. In there, you will find everything you wish to know, except that of which I have just told you. Those secrets should be committed to memory. Don't forget it, I won't be making social calls to repeat myself."

Emika stood and smoothed out her skirt. She turned to leave and walked back across the room. At the door, she paused and turned back to Xemnas, who had picked up the book and begun reading. "Oh, and Xemnas?" She said, calling his attention away from the tome in his hands.

"Yes, Miss Yamaboshi?" He asked.

"You can call me Emika, and I want you to remember one more thing; I will be keeping various sets of eyes on you, so do keep an eye on yourself. All of them. It's not to late to fix what you've broken." She smiled sadly. She turned back to the door, opening it and stepping out into the hall, the door snapping shut once more behind her.

No, that meeting had not gone the way most had this week. She had plenty to think about as well.


	4. Hello Again

Hey guys! Another sorta-fast update! I'm unbelievably proud of myself XD Review please! I really like hearing what you guys think! J

Disclaimer: I, sadly, own nothing. But, I will take donations. I'm talking to you, Square Enix!

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Emika walked back down the hall and down the flight of stairs to the entrance hall, smiling to herself. Things had gone better than she had expected, and she had learned important information tonight.

"Gah! Look at what you've done!" Demyx cried from further in the house. Emika hurried down the last few steps and hurried to see what was wrong with the seemingly always happy boy.

She wandered trough the house hastily and found herself at the kitchen door.

"Now WHAT am I supposed to do with these? They're completely burnt!" Demyx hissed at someone on the other side of the door. Emika snickered. Demyx seemed to have an entirely different side, and it was nothing like the excited, cheerful side she saw earlier.

"Why was it so important anyways, Dem?" Someone said on the other side of the door. The voice was almost too faint for Emika to hear, almost as if they were whispering, or standing on the far side of the kitchen at least.

"I made them for Emika. You know, the girl who got us this place. I wanted to do something nice for her." Demyx announced, sounding quite miserable.

"Huh?" The other voice added.

Emika put her ear to the door so she could listen to that voice a bit closer, but she still couldn't hear any better. There was just something about that voice…

THUMP

Emika was startled out of her silent reverie by the sound of something hitting the floor in the other room. She pushed the door open and hurried into the room, hands curling at her sides.

"Demyx?" Emika called into the seemingly empty kitchen.

Demyx's head popped up from behind a counter as he smiled. "Emika! Hey."

"Demyx, are you okay?" She walked over to the counter and leaned on the surface.

"I'm good." He said as he stood and wiped what looked like flour off of the front of his long black coat. He began cleaning off the counter and putting things away.

"Here, let me help." Emika said as she grabbed the container of flour from in front of her and took it to the cupboard by the refrigerator.

"Thanks." Demyx called over his should as he grabbed the eggs and put them in the fridge. "Wait. How do you know where everything goes?" Demyx asked once everything had been put away and Emika had begun wiping down a flour-covered counter.

"I'm the one who stocked the house and had it decorated, so I know it almost as well as I know my own." She shrugged as she put the wash rag in the sink and washed her hands.

"Oh!" Demyx exclaimed from the left of where she was standing, "I almost forgot you were in here! Emika, I want to introduce you to someone." Demyx said as he walked to the other end of the room. Emika dried her hands and turned to face Demyx.

"Emika, this is Axel." Demyx gestured to the tall, spiky haired redhead he was now standing next to. "Axel, this is -"

"Effie?" The man interrupted Demyx with a hoarse whisper. Emika's eyes widened as she took in the figure of the man in front of her. She made herself stay completely still as she assessed the situation.

_Just don't move. Not yet. It's a daydream, a harsh one at that, but still… It's been so long since I've seen him._

She moved slowly as she thought this, taking a step towards him as her hand reached out as if to touch him. "Lea?" she choked on the words that forced their way out of her mouth.

Axel rushed forward and caught Emika in a tight hug. For a moment, there was no noise at all, but then Demyx coughed awkwardly.

"Erm… sorry to ruin the… moment, but… what?" He stood there completely baffled.

Axel and Emika broke apart, and catching sight of Demyx's dumbfounded expression, Axel began to laugh. Emika smiled almost wistfully. She hadn't realized until then how much she had missed the sound of her brother's laughter. "Ef's my little sister, bubble brain." Axel said a moment later

"Wait, wait, wait!" Demyx held his hands up and walked over to where Axel and Emika stood. "So… Emika is Effie, your little sister?" Demyx walked around the two, looking at them. When he got back in front of them, he stopped moving but continued to stare.

Axel sighed and bent over so that his eyes were level with the younger boy's. "Can I help you, or are you just going to stand there and keep gawking like an idiot?" He asked, tapping the boy's forehead twice.

Demyx swatted Axel's hand away and glared at him. "You two don't really look that similar."

"Well we aren't twins, nimrod. She's got a different mother anyways. We've been over this before. I told you I had a younger half sister, and I've also told you about what happened to my mom. She left my dad and I when I was three, remember? Jeeze you're and airhead." Axel straightened back up and walked across the room to where he had been standing before.

"Well, you ARE both freakishly tall…" Demyx thought out loud.

"Thanks Demyx." Emika muttered with an agitated look on her face. Across the room Axel was searching the floor for something. "What are you looking for Lea?" Emika asked as she crossed the room.

"The rolling pin that Demyx threw at me." He said as he bent to check underneath the table.

Emika laughed. "He threw a rolling pin at you? What did you do to him?"

"Check the pan on the stove." He said with a smirk as he pulled the rolling pin out from underneath a chair.

She walked over and looked into the pan. She wasn't sure what it had been at some point, but now they were scorched rocks shaped like cupcakes. "Well, that certainly explains the smell." she muttered as she opened the window over the sink to let in some fresh air.

"But you two don't even have the same hair color!" Demyx said in exasperation.

Emika laughed. "You're thinking about this way too hard Demyx. I have my hair color darkened; I don't really like the Candy-Apple Red. Besides," she pulled Axel next to her so they were standing side-by-side, "we have the same hips." Emika said with a wide grin.

Demyx burst into a fit of laughter and fell to the floor clutching his sides as Emika ducked to avoid the rolling pin that had been swung at her head by brother dearest, who's face was now the same shade of red as his hair. Ducking behind a counter, Emika began to laugh, and soon Axel was laughing too.

After a moment, the three of them had caught their breaths and Demyx finally managed to pull himself off of the floor. "Well," Demyx said as he walked over to the trash can with the pan of "cupcakes" and began scrapping them out of the pan with a wooden spoon, "I made cupcakes, but porcupine head wanted to help 'cook them faster' and burnt the living crap out of them." Demyx said, giving up on trying to scrape them out, and set the pan on a counter, stabbing them with his spoon.

Axel walked over and took the spoon from him, putting it and the rolling pin into the sink. "She wouldn't have eaten them anyways." He said as he turned the water on and put a plug in the drain. "She doesn't like chocolate." He turned and grabbed the cupcake pan and dumped it in the sink, cupcake-stones and all. "She probably still would have taken them though; She doesn't like hurting people's feelings." He added as he proceeded to pour way too much dish soap in the sink of water. "She always had the biggest heart of anyone I'd ever met."

"Would you stop talking about me like I died or something? I'm right here. And give me some credit," Emika said with a laugh, "I still would have accepted them as a Nobody. I'd always done it because of my conscience, not my heart. You'd know the difference if you would have ever HAD a conscience." She poked him in the back.

"Well, now what am I going to do for you? I wanted to do something since you got us this place." Demyx said, motioning to everything around him then crossing his arms over his chest.

"Easy. You'll come over to my house tomorrow and we'll bake peanut butter cookies for all of the members of the Organization." Emika told him with a smile.

"The Organization? Well, none of us deserve cookies." Demyx said with a pout.

Emika laughed, "I don't really deserve them either Demyx. I had my own reasons for providing the house. Getting free food wasn't one of my goals. Besides, baking is the best part, don't you think?"

Axel laughed and turned away from the sink. "She's right you know; She wouldn't have done something like this if there wasn't something she was after."

"Hey! I don't always have an ulterior motive!" Emika replied

"Oh yeah?" Axel challenged, "Do you remember that day you came home from school and Saï- Isa was at our house?

Emika glared at Axel. She new exactly where this was headed. "Yeah." she grumbled.

Axel's smile widened. "Do you remember what you did?"

Emika put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes more. "I made his favorite foods and told him he should stay for dinner."

"And?" Axel was practically sang with joy; He had always loved 'reminding' her about this particular memory.

"I bullied you into inviting him to stay the night and proceeded to monopolize his attention the entire time." She said as if she had repeated the line multiple times before, which she, in fact, had.

Axel started laughing again and Demyx wore a grin on his face as well, but seemed otherwise unaware of who they were talking about. Emika wondered if Axel had corrected the name because of Demyx, or because of her.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Emika struck conversation with Demyx again. "Demyx, you will come over to bake with me tomorrow, won't you?"

If there had been any uncertainty, it had been dissolved as Emika batted her eyelashes at him. "Sure, Emika" he smiled.

Axel chuckled at how easily he had caved. "Good!" Emika chirped. She walked over to the table and wrote her phone number on a napkin. "That's my number. You should program it into your phone. I'll call at around noon, so be ready to go by then." she said as she handed the paper towel to Demyx.

"Okay, but don't you need my phone number first?" he asked.

"Nope, I've got it already saved into my phone." She smiled as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on 'Axel'," She giggled at the alien name, "walk me to my car like a gentleman." She grabbed Axel by the arm and drug him out of the room, calling a goodbye to Demyx on her way out.

On the front porch, Emika hugged Axel again. As she released him and began pulling away, Axel grabbed her wrists. "Effie, I've got something to tell you. It's about Isa. He's here, in the Organization." He spoke fast as a smile grew on his face.

"I know." she said with a small smile of her own.

Axel let go of her wrists and looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly, questions began pouring out of his mouth. "How did you know? What have you been doing? When did you wake up? How did you find the Organization? What happened-"

Emika put a hand up to cover his mouth. "So many questions." she laughed, "How am I supposed to answer any of them if you don't let me speak?" She raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"Sorry." he mumbled into her hand.

Emika laughed and dropped her hand away from his mouth. "To answer your questions; First, Demyx. He was describing you and Isa to me because he thought there was something 'weird' about the two of you." She wiggled he fingers at him and laughed. "Speaking of Demyx, when you were telling that story earlier, why did you-"

Axel cut her off. "I had a few reasons. Firstly, I almost said Saïx because it's a habit. We were all given new names and he and I both decided it would be best if people didn't know we were… connected in any way. If you haven't noticed, some of the members of the Organization can give off a bad vibe."

"Well your whole 'we don't know each other' plan isn't working. Demyx suspects something. And I have a feeling Demyx isn't the brightest crayon in the box, so there's a good chance the others know something." Emika shook her head in exasperation. Sometimes, Lea came up with the dumbest and most pointless plans. Why would it matter if they knew each other?

"Actually, Demyx is better at reading people than anyone else in the Organization, but he still isn't all that sharp, which brings me to my second reason; Demyx has a really big mouth. Bigger than that old friend of your's, Mo." He smiled as he thought of Mocha, Effie's childhood friend.

"Right. Well, to answer your other questions; I've been doing a lot since I 'woke up'. I've gone through a lot of training, I've been researching things, collecting hearts, and so on; which, by the way, I suspect Xemnas will be talking to all of you about tomorrow." Axel raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled, "Long story. Like I said, I had many reasons for tracking the Organization down and keeping you all close. Next, It's been a little over five years now. I'm not really sure of the exact date; It isn't something I like to remember. And lastly, how I found the Organization." Emika hummed and tapped her cheek, thinking. "Finding out about the lot of you was fairly easy. You're all very messy with your work. How I located Xemnas, on the other hand, took a bit more work. I can't really say what exactly got the results. There was a lot of guessing, patterns, figuring out how he used the Darkness, and tracking the Organization's movements as a whole. In the end, I just sent a few Dancer Nobodies wandering around with a vague letter for Xemnas. I'm fairly sure that all but one had been intercepted by a man named Xigbar though."

"Xigbar? Why do you think he did it?"

"Well, he sent a few letters back with… disturbing content." Emika shuddered at the thought of those letters.

"What did he say? I swear I'll kill him if he-"

"Funny enough, he hardly said anything. Most of them were pictures. Very. Graphic. Pictures." Emika stated calmly as her cheeks got warmer. Axel on the other hand, completely lost it. He began laughing so hard that he was forced to hold the railing so he could remain standing as little tears began to run down his face.

Emika rolled her eyes and tapped him on the forehead to regain his attention. "Axel. Where is Isa now?"

"Huh?" he responded brilliantly, "Oh! Right. At the moment he's out with… Zexion, I think, exploring a new world." He said as he wiped the tears from his face, still smiling.

"They aren't releasing any Heartless, are they?" Emika asked, shoulders tensing.

"No." Axel shook his head. "Exploration missions are just that. The hood stays up and we just look around a bit. They'll take a few notes, maybe some pictures, and then report to Xemnas, and he decides what we do from there."

"Oh, okay." she said, looking at the ground and thinking. "Hey. Earlier, Demyx said you all referred to each other as ranks or numbers or something. Why aren't you doing that?" Emika questioned him, noticing how easily he had called Xemnas by name.

"First off, that 'Rank' thing is a 'first come, first served' thing. And they're a formality, not an all-the-time deal. Secondly, it's a respect thing, which explains MY lack of use for the terms. Lastly, with strangers we feel it's best not to give out too much information on other Organization members. Although, it seems Demyx hadn't quite grasped that point yet if he was describing Saïx and me in enough detail that you managed to figure out that he's Isa." Axel sighed.

The two stared out at the street.

"Axel?" Emika broke the silence with a whisper.

"What is it?" he asked, not turning away from the street.

"Do you still… remember?" Emika looked down at the toes of her boots.

"What do you mean?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"From… before. Some of my memories; I know I'm missing them. I can feel it. It's like an extra emptiness, except… I don't know." She shook her head. "It hurts more than not having my heart. It's like everything else is gone too."

"Yeah, I remember everything." He turned to her and leaned against the railing.

Emika sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Emika's phone buzzed and she jumped. Axel laughed at her as she pulled it out of her boot, remembering how she had always told him had been great for holding things such as tampons, much to his horror. She scowled at Axel for laughing at her as she opened the message and read through it quickly.

"Sorry Lea, I've got to go, My mom needs some help with a few documents that she found." She said absentmindedly as she tucked the phone back into her boot.

"Mom?" Axel repeated, clearly confused.

"Um, yeah. The Yamaboshi's are sort of like a family, where as the Organization is like a… business of sorts. Lady Yamaboshi is the youngest Yamaboshi who, only quite recently, got her heart. She's always been like a mother to all of us. She's more of a mom to me than my own mother ever was, at any rate." Emika said quietly.

"So… how many Yamaboshi's are there?" Axel asked.

"Well… right now we've got seventeen who are still Nobodies. Five of them are too young to control any Heartless stronger than a Shadow. The youngest just turned eight, so we've just started some of the basic training. She likes playing with the Shadows though." Emika smiled, thinking of how she had been playing with on that morning at breakfast.

"Eight?" Axel exclaimed.

"Yes. The Organization's doing." Emika said somberly.

Axel had a horrified look on his face. "You mean.. we-"

"When the Heartless are let out of the Darkness without any reign at all, they help the Darkness consume anything and everything. They're like animals; They don't have consciences. Xemnas is aware of that, and if he's wise, he will soon begin taking the steps to correct the mistakes he's made." Emika said, using a strangely comforting tone to say something so dark.

"How'd she do it though? Her spirit… how was it strong enough at eight?" Axel's tone was approaching hysteria.

"Axel. Calm Down. Now." Emika said firmly as she grabbed his shoulders. "She's being taken care of now, and that's what matters."

"I just… I don't get it." Axel shook her shoulders off and ran his hands through his hair.

Emika stood there and watched him for a moment, reading his movements. He was clearly upset by this, but there was another reason he was so distressed, and she knew she would have to do something about it. Emika stepped forward and hugged him. "She's special." She said into his chest.

After a moment, she pulled away and walked back down the steps. On the last step, she paused, back facing Axel, and spoke quietly, "She was four."

"What?" Axle hadn't heard what she had said.

Emika turned to face him. "When she was Awakened, she was four. I was the one who found her. She was crying, calling for her brother. She calmed down when she saw me though; I think she was just afraid that she would be all alone." Emika looked at the ground. Axel stayed silent as a tear fell to the pavement at Emika's feet. "Her hair…" she murmured, "it's blue." She sniffed and turned, crossing the yard to her car. She opened the door, and just as she was about to climb in, Axel's voice stopped her. "It's… don't tell me… it's Liddy?"

Emika looked at Axel. He was gripping the railing hard. Emika nodded once and got into the car, closing the door softly. "Please take me home." she said to the driver as she put her seatbelt on.

As the car began pulling away from the curb, Emika looked out the window. Axel was still standing there, staring at the ground, shaking and gripping the railing. Emika closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She knew that he needed the confirmation. She convinced herself that tomorrow, he would wake up and realize it wasn't the end of the world. At least now he knew where she was, and that she was safe.

The only thing that Emika wanted right now was a cup of hot chocolate, and a chance to take a look at those papers her mom found.

* * *

A/N: Whoops! That chapter was a LOT longer than I had intended it to be. Anywho, I bet you're wondering about this other OC, huh? No, it won't be some creepy "side Axel/OC" thing. She's 8. But I know you were thinking it XD

P.S. Reviews are fantastic. You know why? Reviews = Happy Haley (Tis me!) = Eager to write = faster updates.

How quickly would you like to meet Liddy? :3

~FanaticFeltonFan


	5. Picturesque

Hey guys! Hehe , sorry for taking so long with this one. I wanted it to have a different feel, and I couldn't write it whilst pissed off, so it took me a bit longer to write it than I had originally thought. Sorry! In other news, school is starting again in a few weeks, so I'm not guaranteeing speedy updates. I should be updating frequently, but it could take a little while. Again; Sorry! The chapters will be longer and (hopefully) worth the wait though. On a happier note, I'm updating! This chapter is longer than the last few. And I lost my pen, so I used a crayola marker instead... It took WAY too many pages to rough draft XD Anyways, enjoy! Reviews make me happy!

A/N In this chapter, I describe some pictures. Keep in mind that the pictures ARE NOT in any sort of chronological order. You'll understand what I mean when you get there.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, some of the characters would probably end up running around naked. That said, we can safely conclude that I don't own it. Please don't sue.

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The little black car parked in front of Emika's house in the early morning hours.

"Sorry for being so rude earlier Luke. I've been on edge for the last few days, but that's still no excuse for taking it out on you." Emika said to Luke, her driver.

"Don't worry about it Miss Yamaboshi. I suspected something was wrong and knew not to take it personally." He smiled at her through the rear view mirror.

"You know what? I want you to take the day off tomorrow, paid of course. Take your wife out to dinner or a movie. And tell her I said hello, okay?" Emika smiled at Luke and opened her door.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked. He had been Emika's driver for the last five years, and since she already didn't like cars, he knew that she wouldn't be comfortable with anyone else driving.

"Yeah." she smiled reassuringly, "I don't plan on going anywhere tomorrow. Besides, I can just have Simon pick up my friend."

Simon was Lady Amelia Yamaboshi's driver. He was huge and very intimidating, but he was about as dangerous as a Moogle. Simon was one of those people who everyone always felt safe around and was gentle by nature. He and couldn't harm a living thing unless it was a threat, and Emika knew that Simon could fight, and he could fight well; Anyone associated with the Yamaboshi family was required to undergo extensive training for their own safety.

"Okay. Thank you." Luke smiled and Emika climbed out of the car, making her way up the winding path to the front door. Emika pulled her keys out and unlocked the door, stepping in and closing and relocking the door behind her. She silently slipped off her boots and left them at the door, pulling her cell phone and Sai out of them. She tiptoed through the hall and up the stairs deftly, heading to her bedroom. She shut and locked the door behind her as she turned on her light.

The room in front of her was a warm and familiar sight. Emika sighed contently as she plugged her phone into the wall and placed all of her weapons in the back of her wardrobe. Closing the doors securely, Emika turned and grabbed the remote off of the end of her bed. She absentmindedly pressed the red button at the top before throwing it haphazardly back on the bed.

The TV hanging on the wall flashed to life as Emika walked into her closet. She opened on of the drawers lining the wall and pulled out her favorite set of pajamas: A chocolate brown tank top and a set of emerald shorts. Grabbing her robe off the back of the door, she stepped out of the closet and looked at the TV.

"… and good night, Pleasant Valleys." the news reporter on the screen said as the screen faded to black and the channel's icon appeared on the screen. Grabbing the remote again, Emika changed the channel. The station she changed it to was playing soft music and the song that was playing just then was I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. Emika sighed again, this time a little exasperated. She turned the TV off and walked over to her window, where her mp3 player and her dock were sitting. She turned on her mp3 and quickly scrolled through the playlists, finding one titled Yiruma and setting it on repeat. Turning the dock up loud enough so she could hear it in the shower, Emika walked over and dropped her clothes on the end of her bed before turning around and walking to the door in the far left corner of the room with her robe over her arm.

Opening the door, she clicked on the switch on the wall and her bathroom lit up, the fixtures along the walls emitting a soft glow around the room. The only two ceiling lights hung above her Swiss Shower, and above her mirror and sink. Emika set her robe on the sink and crossed the room to her shower, where she turned the water on and stuck her hand into the stream of water flowing from the faucet, waiting for the temperature to rise.

When the water was finally hot enough, Emika undressed and stepped into the shower, sliding the door shut and fully surrounding herself with the beautiful opaque glass. The steaming water poured over her skin at various angles, slowly soothing the muscles throughout her body. For a while, Emika stood there in the water, just starring at the glass as if she could see through it to the patterns on the wall across the room. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts and questions, but she didn't acknowledge any of them. She simply stood, and starred.

Eventually, the water began to cool, and Emika washed herself quickly. Rinsing the last of her mint scented conditioner from her hair, Emika hummed to herself. She wanted desperately to think about everything that had happened tonight, but was resolved not to until she had had a good night's sleep and a clear head. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, on to the green mat that covered a large part of the floor. Although the room was filled with the steam from the shower, cold air was wafting in from her bedroom.

Emika quickly wrapped herself in her robe and walked into her room. She looked around, and for a second, she saw her old room. The bed sat against the far wall, covered with her blue and green comforter and a bunch of pillows, that, in all honesty, got thrown unceremoniously to the floor each night. On her headboard hung an array of necklaces and a science medal she had been awarded at school. What attracted her attention was the various shapes shining on the far wall. There, pictures in various silver frames hung, each of people she loved.

There was a picture of her and Mocha on their first day of second grade. They were smiling and wearing their special uniforms, both with an excitement in their eyes that made them glow, but it was plain to see by the way they held hands how truly scared they were.

There was another of herself, Lea, and their father at the lake. She was thirteen and perched on Lea's shoulders. Their father stood next to them, beaming at the camera. They were all in their swimming suits and, Effie, she reminded herself, had smeared sunscreen on Lea's cheek just as the picture had been taken. Lea's face was priceless; Eyes wide and mouth open in shock at the cold lotion that had been put on his skin. She herself had her eyes closed in laughter as she held out a hand, showing some of the sunscreen she had rubbed on Lea's face, the other hand grasping her father's shoulder as she tried to keep her balance. Lea had hated that picture and had consistently asked for it to be taken down, but she had always told him that it was perfect and belonged up there. She knew, that secretly, Lea loved that picture too.

The next picture was of her, Lea, and Isa at one of her birthday parties. They were standing, one on each side of her with a paper plate of cake in their outside hands. The hands nearest her were wrapped around her back in a sort of half hug. She had each arm around one of their waists as she smiled at the camera. Looking at the picture, she saw the looks on Lea's and Isa's faces, indicating what had happened next.

They were both smirking and looking at her. As soon as the flash of the camera had gone off, they both brought their other arms in. The next thing she saw was two pieces of cake headed for her face. Before she could even blink, the plates and their contents crashed into her face, splattering everywhere with the momentum they had gained.

The room had gone completely silent for about three seconds, after which the cake slid off of her face and she let out a battle cry, bringing the two, whom she still had her arms around, crashing to the floor in a pile, in which she proceeded to sit on top of as she glared at the two of them. The room erupted into laughter as she crossed her arms and huffed, giving the two of them the most wicked look she could muster.

The picture next to that was a group portrait. In it was herself, Lea, their father, Isa, Liddy, and their grandmother. This had been the only professional photo she had hanging on the wall. They were all dressed nicely and positioned so that Liddy was in the front, Emika was directly behind her, Isa was to her right, and Lea was to her left. Next to Isa was his grandmother, and Lea and Effie's father stood next Lea with a hand on his shoulder.

The last picture hanging on the wall was one that had been taken by a nurse. In it was herself, Lea, and their father. This had been the last picture that they took together. Their father was laying in a hospital bed with tubes in both of his arms. On his left was Lea, sitting in a chair with a "Get Well Soon!" balloon tethered to the one of the arms. On the right, Effie sat on the edge of the bed, holding her father's hand. Once again, he was beaming at the camera, but pain was etched into the lines of his face. She and Lea wore smiles of their own, but they were halfhearted and didn't touch their eyes, which were filled with sorrow. Their father had simply caught a cold and had gone in to get some medication when they realized that it was far more serious than that.

When they had visited the next morning, his condition had further deteriorated, and by noon, he had passed. When she a Lea had gotten home that night, goodbyes still stuck in their throats, they sat on the couch and talked until 2am.

On her dresser, there sat one more photo. It was a picture of her, Isa, and a baby Liddy. She and Isa had been sitting on her living room couch one night when Isa's grandmother had shown up unexpectedly. With her, was newborn Lydia Vay, Isa's new baby sister. They had both been caught off guard by the news. Last they had heard, Isa's mother had been arrested somewhere, which had been fine in Isa's opinion. He had told her once that she was a terrible mother, and an even worse person. He had had no idea that she had been pregnant though.

Once the two of them had sat back down on the couch, Isa's grandmother handed Liddy to Isa, who took her with unsure arms. That moment was when Lea had taken the picture. Liddy was looking up at Isa with bug eyes, and Isa looked back in astonishment. Effie sat at his side with a brilliant smile on her face. In the background, Isa's grandmother and Effie's father were talking at the kitchen table.

Emika blinked rapidly. Only a second had gone past as all of those memories had flooded her mind. She walked over to her bed and grabbed her clothes. She dressed quickly and walked over to her nightstand.

There, a single picture sat. She picked it up and studied it. It was of a blue haired boy, a red haired girl, and a newborn baby. It was the only thing she brought with her from when she had gone back home. It was the only thing that had survived the destruction of the Darkness.

There was a soft knock at the door then. Emika walked to the door and unlocked it, opening it quietly to see her mother standing in the hall. "There you are Emi. I was wondering if you'd come take a quick peek at these documents." Amelia said as her eyes fell to the picture in Emika's hands. "But if you're busy, they can wait until morning." she added quickly.

"No, tonight's fine. I was just headed down there." Emika said as she stepped out of her room and closed the door. For a moment, they stood in the dark hall. Emika coughed and handed the photograph to her mother. "I have something I wanted to tell you anyways." Emika started down the hall to her mother's study, where the lights glowed from underneath the door. Her mother followed silently.

Inside the office, Emika pulled one of the chairs over to the desk that sat in the center of the room, which was currently covered in papers of varying condition. As Amelia sat down, Emika picked up a small stack of the papers and began to organize the documents into piles. One was a pile of gibberish, papers that were lab reports and needed other papers to even begin making sense. Another pile was for letters that were to and from a vast array of people, some she had heard of or even knew, and others she hadn't. The last was a pile of papers that were in really bad shape and would need to be closely examined.

As Emika sorted, her mother studied the picture in her hands. She had recognized Emika, who was quite a bit younger in the picture, but the others in the photo were all mysteries to her.

Emika looked up and saw her mother inspecting the picture, and as she continued sorting, she began telling Lady Yamaboshi her story for the first time.

"My parents didn't know each other. They met in a bar and promptly got completely shit-faced together. Needless to say what happened next. Nine months later, my biological mother, Erin, gave birth to a baby girl. It took her roughly a month to figure out who's child it even was; by then, my hair had grown long enough that she could easily tell. After two more weeks, she put me up for adoption, deciding that a blonde beauty such as herself couldn't be seen with a child who had hair the color of an apple. The adoption agency promptly told her that, in order to finalize the papers, both parents would have to sign the release forms, so she tracked down my father.

"He refused to sign the papers after finding out about me. He'd had no idea I had even existed before that point. She threw fit when he said he wouldn't sign the papers though, so she hired a lawyer and took him to court. There, he told the judge that, if she didn't want me, then he would gladly take me in. The judge knew my father, and gave him full custody over me, despite how much Erin had bitched and moaned.

"She then told my father that he would never see so much as a dime of child support from her. He told her that he didn't want, or need her money, and that she needed to get her shit straight. He told her that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life by giving me up, and that when she realized that, it would be too late.

"He never told me any of this though. I heard it from Mr. McIntosh; He was the judge at the hearing." Emika chuckled, remembering the old family friend. "My dad is the one in the very back, pouring a cup of coffee. His name was Andrew." she paused for a moment, thinking. "It turns out, Erin drove her car into oncoming traffic on the highway. She, naturally, had been completely drunk." Emika leaned back in her chair, done sorting now. "Across from him is another family friend. Her name was Yetta. I always called her Nanna though. She was the grandmother of the other two people in that picture."

At this point, Emika had scooted her chair closer to her mothers and was pointing to the people in the photograph as she talked about them. "This boy here, he was my boyfriend. His name was Isa. He is one of the most wonderful people in the Universe." she whispered.

_"Was," _she mentally corrected herself.

"And the baby? It wasn't yours, was it?" Amelia asked, looking up at Emika.

Emika's eyes widened. "No! Absolutely not! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but no. I was 16 when I "woke up", you know that. Besides, she's 8 now. That would have made me about 12 or 13 when she was conceived." Emika shuddered. "That's just wrong."

For a moment, the two sat and looked at the picture. "So, if she wasn't yours, who's was she?" her mother asked.

"She's Isa's little sister. Her name is Lydia." She whispered the last sentence, running her hand along the ornate silver frame.

"Lydia? Wait, you mean like-?"

"Liddy." Emika interrupted, nodding her head in confirmation.

Amelia laughed, "Why didn't I put that together? The boy's blue hair and the way you're looking at her. You still look at her that way you know." Her mother said. She looked at Emika. "Your eyes fill with love and amazement every time you see her." She looked down at the picture and then back up at Emika. "Your eyes were the same color? That's… unusual."

"Could have something to do with my powers." Emika suggested, shrugging.

"Or the simple fact that, even as a Nobody, you have a bigger heart than most people." Her mother told her, setting the photo carefully on the desk and turning toward Emika in her chair.

"I'd like to think that." Emika sighed.

Amelia leaned over and hugged her. "Soon, you'll have your heart back. And I have to admit, I'm interested in seeing what you're like. Any more love and caring would have most people twitching on the floor and frothing at the mouth." She joked.

Emika laughed. Slowly, her lingering smile turned into a yawn.

"Oh, my!" Amelia exclaimed. "It's already early morning!" she said, glancing at the clock. "The sun will be up in a few hours, and I'll bet you have plans for tomorrow. Come on, off to bed." She snatched the photo off of the desk and pulled Emika up out of her chair and toward the door.

"But, the papers-" Emika argued

"Can wait." Amelia interrupted with a firm tone. "Good night." she said as she handed Emika her picture and forced her out into the hall.

"Good night." Emika said as she turned toward her door.

Back in her room, Emika brushed her teeth and turned off all of the lights, leaving her mp3 and dock on and setting her alarm clock as she slipped into bed, looking at the photo she had set back on her nightstand.

"Good night, Isa."

* * *

So, like I said before: Time is moving WAY slow in these chapters. The entire story should only be 4-5 days long, but I have NO idea how many chapters that will equal. Hopefully you'll just enjoy the ride, ne? Thank you all for your patience when it comes to me being so slow with updating. I've had this chapter written for a few days, but I'm not as fast of a type-er as I am of a writer. Sorry about that! Maybe if I just wrote less, I wouldn't take so long -_- Anyways... hope you guys liked it, the next chapter is already half done, so it SHOULD be up soon. (Reviews make me happy. Like, Bishonen-takes-off-shirt-in-front-of-fangirl happy. So, yeah XD) ~Emi


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